As I’m building Mesh, I remembered that I promised to use the ‘Pixar Rules of Storytelling.‘ I went back and started filling these out as though I was doing an essay exam and the results have been surprising. Let me share with you the results of that exercise. I’ll post these from time to time to help you understand where I’m coming from as this novel comes together.
I answered #14 here and now it’s time to answer question #4. For me and for Roman and for Mesh, it goes like this:
Once upon a time there was a geeky kid named Roman who was disabled. Every day, he dreamed of getting out of his wheelchair. One day, a famous school offered him a spot in their Advanced Projects program. They even gave him an experimental exoskeleton, helping him achieve his dream of being a normal kid again. Because of that, Roman worked very hard on a secret project that was supposed to save the world. Then one day, he discovered that the secret project had a dark side. He tried to make things better, but they only got worse, until finally he had to make a choice that would change his life forever.
Doing these Pixar storytelling exercises has been valuable for Mesh. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I want to these updates to be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest. Now it’s time to get back to work.